Barkin's Story
by Medic48907
Summary: Just a little one shot that hit me. Barkin reflects on his time in the military


Kim and Ron sat in the history class waiting for it to start. They had recently returned from a mission to Vietnam to foil yet another Drakken plot. The school day was almost over and Kim and Ron couldn't wait for it. Just then, Mr. Barkin walked into the room. "Listen up people, I'm in charge of this class starting now." Barkin said. "Where's Mrs. Johnson?" Ron asked. Barkin took the chalk from the blackboard and said "She's digging at the great pyramid for her other job." Kim and Ron sank into their seats and frowned. They knew that Barkin would drill the class to no end.

"OK, today were studying the Vietnam War. Open your books to page 375 and pay attention." Barkin shouted. Kim and Ron opened their books to the said page and sat waiting for Barkin to begin the class. Just as Barkin was beginning to speak, the fire alarm sounded. "OK people, you know the drill." Barkin screamed above the alarm. The students filed out to the pre determined spot and waited for news. After several minutes Barkin came to the class and said "We seem to have a small fire in the kitchen. School is called off for the rest of the day, but you have a paper due tomorrow over our lesson for today. Now go home." Kim and Ron smiled at each other and walked to the Sloth. "So how are we gonna do a paper over a class that wasn't taught?" Ron asked. Kim shook her head and said "I don't know. I guess we'll just have to do the research on our own and do the best we can. Meet me at my house tonight and we will work on it together." Ron smiled and kissed Kim as they pulled into his driveway. He said goodbye to his girlfriend and walked inside.

Later that evening, Ron and Kim sat at the computer researching the paper. Kim saw a link that caught her attention. It was a link to a photo of a soldier and a dog. Kim clicked on the link and was amazed by what she saw. "Ron, you have to see this." she said. Ron raised his eyes from the book to see the photo. He nearly passed out when he saw it. The picture was a very young Mr. Steven Barkin, in full camo and holding the leash for a German Shepherd. "You know, I think we could do a spankin paper over this. We just need to talk to Mr. Barkin and get him to open up to us about his service time." Kim said. Ron shook his head in agreement and they were off to Mr. Barkin's house for the interview.

Steve Barkin was sitting in his recliner drinking a cup of coffee and looking at an old photo album. He sighed deeply and took a drink from his coffee. Just as he sat the cup down, the doorbell rang. He walked to the door and looked through the peep hole. He saw Kim and Ron standing on his stoop holding several binders and pieces of paper. He opened the door and looked down at the two teens. "How many times do I have to tell you Stoppable, home time is me time." Barkin sneered. "Mr. B, we wanted to ask you a few questions about something." Kim said. Barkin was about to close the door on the two teens when Ron held up a printout of the photo they found earlier. Barkin froze and looked at the picture. He slowly stepped aside and let the two teens in. He returned to his recliner as the two teens sat on the sofa opposite the recliner. Kim sat the binders on the coffee table and opened a tablet.

"Mr. Barkin, what's up with this picture? We found it while researching for our paper. Can you enlighten us?" Kim asked. "Yeah Mr. B, what's up with this?" Ron added. Barkin placed the photo album he was looking at earlier in front of the two and sat back in his recliner. Kim and Ron opened the album and saw the photo on the internet, only this one was a black and white original. As they flipped through the pages of the album they were greeted with more photos of Barkin, the dog, and various other men and dogs, all dressed like Barkin. The two looked up at Barkin with a questioning look on their faces. Barkin sighed as he began his story.

"It was during my tour in Vietnam. I was assigned to the 101st Airborne. We were the elite jump team at the time. I had trained as a military dog handler during basic and was enlisted with the task of keeping the other troops as safe as possible. That dog you see was named Ace, or MWD-5542, he was my partner for this mission and many before it." Kim was writing as fast as she could to keep up with Barkin. "We landed in hostile territory and were surrounded by VC as soon as we hit the ground. Ace and myself took point to search for mines, booby traps, and hidden troops. We were on our way back to the group of troops when a VC soldier ran from the bushes with his gun pointed at me. I was young and afraid. I dropped Ace's leash and froze. The enemy soldier was about to fire on me when Ace jumped at him. He pinned the soldier to the ground and alerted the rest of the squad to my location. Soon the other soldiers were surrounding the enemy soldier. Ace released and ran to my side. He sat facing the enemy soldier until he was shot." Barkin paused for a moment to take a drink of coffee. Kim looked up from her tablet and asked "Mr. Barkin, what happened after the landing?"

Barkin looked back at the teens and spoke "After the landing we were called to several other battles. I was always on point with Ace by my side. We never lost a man thanks to him. After several battles and almost a year, I was wounded while scouting with Ace. When I came to, I was in a MASH unit with tubes coming out of every possible hole in my body. I could see several other men from my unit lying beside me with injuries. They all saw me wake up, but wouldn't talk to me. I found my CO and asked him where Ace was. He lowered his head and told me that Ace had taken a serious hit and was most likely dead. He told me that Ace had been found with me and was transported to the MASH unit with me. The doctors had agreed to help him and he was still in surgery at the moment." Kim noticed Barkin was stammering a little as he spoke. She thought he had something in his throat until she saw his eyes. They were red and watery, like he was about to cry. She elbowed Ron and nodded to Barkin. Ron saw the same sight as Kim and began to worry about his teacher. "Mr. B, are you OK?" Ron asked. Barkin took a drink of coffee and began again.

"After my CO left my bedside the doctor came in to talk with me. He told me that Ace had taken a direct hit to his lung and did not survive surgery. He placed a hand on my shoulder and walked away. I laid in that bed for several days in pain. Not only from my wound but from the loss of one of my best friends. After I was able to walk, I went to the gravesite for Ace. The other men had buried him in the center of the MASH unit. They all placed a small momento next to his grave marker. The grave marker was simple, but fitting for the time. A small wooden cross with a spade carved in it and Ace carved into it. I found out later that day that I would be going home due to my wound. I stayed sedated for a while after that. Then I was returned to the states and laid in a hospital for several weeks." Kim and Ron sat on the edge of the sofa in amazement. They were amazed that the hardcore teacher and former soldier had even a hint of a soft side. Ron even felt sorry for the man. He had never seen Barkin act like this. Barkin took a breath and continued.

"After I got out of the hospital, I tried to get in touch with my former unit. I found out that soon after Ace's death, they were ambushed by the VC and substained several wounded and even more were killed. They said they believe that a dog would have prevented it. Soon after the war was over, several of my comrads came to see me at home. They all told me about the battles after I went home. They said that it was hell after Ace died. I found out later that Ace may have gotten off lucky. The military deamed the dogs as surplus and they were left in the country. No one knows if the dogs were left alive or if they were killed after the war. Most think that the Vietnamese killed and ate them. It was indeed a bad mistake for the military. A bill was formed later stating that all military working dogs would no longer be considered surplus and would come home with the handlers. I just wish they decided to do that before the Vietnam war."

Barkin finished his story and wiped a tear from his eye. Kim and Ron looked at each other and frowned. They didn't know what to do. They felt sorry for Mr. Barkin, but didn't know how to show it. Kim asked the hard question that she was holding back. "Mr. Barkin, why was Ace so special for you and your unit? Was he trained differently than the other dogs?" She asked. Barkin looked up with tears in his eyes and said "Possible, that dog saved my life and the lives of the other men more times than I can count. Out of all the friends that I lost in that horrible war, I miss him the most. He never asked for anything other than a pat on the head or a bit of MRE from me. He loved me unconditionally, and I him. If it wasn't for him and the other dogs, there would be many more men dead from the war." Kim looked down. She was feeling ashamed for asking Barkin that question. She knew how Ron felt about Rufus, and knew that if something like that happened to him, Ron would feel the same way as Barkin. Kim looked at Ron. They shared an unspoken agreement that it was time to leave.

"Mr. Barkin, thank you for talking with us. We will have the report on your desk tomorrow morning." Kim said "Barkin stood and escorted them to the door. "Possible, Stoppable, don't worry about the report, and don't tell anyone about this little talk." He said. Kim and Ron nodded and turned to walk away. Barkin closed the door and went to his kitchen. He pulled a bottle of Jack Daniels from the cabinet and poured a shot. He walked into the living room and stood staring at a picture on the wall. It was of the fallen dog and comrad Ace. He lifted his glass into the air and said "To you Ace, you will always be a friend and partner. May you rest forever in the meadow in the sky."


End file.
